KYIV. Nov 29 (Interfax-AVN) - The Ukrainian peacekeepers in Sierra Leone have accomplished a special mission on the Liberian and Guinean border, assigned by the UNAMSIL Force Commander.
"In accordance with UNAMSIL force commander's and Aviation Dept director's orders, Ukrainian helicopter pilots of the 20th detached helicopter team have fulfilled combat patrolling of the Liberian and Guinean border," the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry told Interfax-Military News Agency Friday.
The press service said that according to information available to the Mission HQ, gangs aiming to destabilize the situation in the country might have violated the Liberian border of Sierra Leone.
According to the press service, two Ukrainian MI-8MT Hip rotary-wing aircraft were assigned the combat task. The most experienced crews were tailored for the mission, headed by team commander Colonel Volodymyr Pastukhov and his deputy for flight training Lieutenant Colonel Taras Shlyukharchuk.
The press service also said that the peacekeepers spent in air five hours of the eight hours the whole mission took. Due to a special relief and the risk the task implied, the flight altitude did not exceed 50 to 100m. All in all, more than 1,000km of the border were covered. The performance of the squad was highly appreciated by experts in the Mission HQ.
According to the UNAMSIL Force Commander's order, the Ukrainian team is in for another four similar missions in the most risky sections of the border in early December.